Roundelay: Krampus? Seriously?

Are the children being a cuss?

Running, screaming, pure avarice?

Let them know about the Krampus,

And see how fast they turn from vice!

All the kids, they know Nicholas;

That jolly elf is just too nice!

 

Let them know about the Krampus,

And see how fast they turn from vice!

Crying child throws a fit and fuss?

Tell the tale full of chills and ice.

All the kids, they know Nicholas;

That jolly elf is just too nice!

 

Crying child throws a fit and fuss?

Tell the tale full of chills and ice.

Scar the psyche with little muss;

make the little dears ponder thrice.

All the kids, they know Nicholas;

That jolly elf is just too nice!

 

Scar the psyche with little muss;

make the little dears ponder thrice.

If you do this, I’m serious:

I hope you come down with head-lice!

All the kids, they know Nicholas;

That jolly elf is just too nice!

***

So, I’m scrolling through my reader this morning and I come across a post from Bastet And Sekhmat’s Library titled “Roundelay: Yule-Tide” (check out her site, if you haven’t already 🙂 ). She serves as a great resource, along with Paint The World With Words and others, in my seemingly never-ending quest to at least attempt once the various forms of poetry out there (except Epics, I’m more Homer Simpson than Homer of the Iliad 😉 ).

Like I do with most of my attempts, let me try and break the form down for you.

From Guide to Verse Forms:

The roundelay is quite different from the rondelet, despite the names sounding so similar. It is also different from the roundel, the rondel, the rondine, the rondeauand the rondeau redoublé. These forms all evolved from a common ancestor, hence the similar names. The modern forms are all fixed and tightly defined, but in times past the word roundelay was used in other ways, sometimes as a general term for any kind of lyric.

This is one of those forms where most of the lines get repeated – there are 24 lines in the poem, but only 12 of them are different. The structure is actually very simple, if you consider it in terms of pairs of lines. There are only 6 pairs of lines in the poem, arranged according to this scheme: ABR/BCR/CDR/DER, where R denotes the 2-line refrain that ends each stanza. The metre is trochaic tetrameter (see the metre page if necessary) but it is permissible for some of the lines to be (as here) one syllable short. (credit: Bob Newman)

I’ve color coded my Roundelay as a guide, but here’s a breakdown for those not familiar with poetry (like me, but I’m learning):

24 lines (4 stanzas-6 lines each)

First Stanza

Line 1 – A 1

Line 2 – A 2

Line 3 – B1 (rhyme A1)

Line 4 – B2 (rhyme A2)

Line 5 – Refrain 1 (rhyme A1 and B1)

Line 6 – Refrain 2 (rhyme A2 and B2)

Second stanza

Line 7 – B1 repeats

Line 8 – B2 repeats

Line 9 – C1 (rhyme B1)

Line 10 – C2 (rhyme B2)

Line 11 – Refrain 1

Line 12 – Refrain 2

Third Stanza

Line 13 – C1 repeats

Line 14 – C2 repeats

Line 15 – D1 (rhyme C1)

Line 16 – D2 (rhyme C2)

Line 17 – Refrain 1

Line 18 – Refrain 2

Fourth Stanza

Line 19 – D1 repeats

Line 20 – D2 repeats

Line 21 – E1 (rhyme D1)

Line 22 – E2 (rhyme D2)

Line 23 – Refrain 1

Line 24 – Refrain 2

And for those like me that couldn’t tell an iamb from trochaic foot if a meth-addled junkie held a gun to our heads demanding an explanation, I just went with 8 syllables per line (although 7 is also acceptable apparently).

Hope the breakdown helps and I hope you enjoy.

Happy Holidays to everyone and, as always, Happy Reading and Writing!

J. Milburn